


Heroes Never Die

by HeereandThere



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2019-01-25 08:27:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12527192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeereandThere/pseuds/HeereandThere
Summary: Soldier: 76 finds out that Mercy's ability to resurect isn't just a work of miracles.





	Heroes Never Die

It was a bright light. But it wasn't death. Angela Ziegler had been on the brink of it before, and it was nothing like this.

No. She was in the Overwatch infirmary, with Soldier: 76 hovering over her anxiously. She heard him breathe a sigh of relief, leaning back. He didn't have his mask on, blue eyes rolling in exasperation. He laughed nervously, mumbling a "Don't scare me like that."

Before speaking, Mercy reached up and shaded her eyes, the lights of the room making the headache she already had even worse. "Jack? What... happened?" It was the most common thing a hero that had been knocked unconscious asked, and now she understood why; she couldn't remember a thing other than being on a mission with a small team.

"You don't remember? Can't say I blame you. We were in those Ilios ruins, with a small team, waiting for a Talon attack. And when they got there, things got messy. Three of us were down quickly, I can't remember who, but you were on top of it, as always. But when you revived us, I didn't hear anything from you. We chased them away, but you were out cold on the ground. I dunno why."

Mercy froze instantly. Revivals... Passing out? Had she really been so reckless?

"Angela?" Soldier: 76 paused and looked at her directly, but she didn't look back at him. "You know what happened, don't you? You've got that look in your eyes again. That one you got when Reyes... When you brought him back."

It took her a moment to answer, but she finally did. "Do you remember when you visited me in the infirmary right after the Swiss headquarters incident?" 

"... Yeah. That was when I told you what happened. Why no one could know I was alive. You were injured in the-"

"No, I wasn't." 

Soldier paused, eyes furrowed in slight confusion. "That's what they told me. What you told me." 

Mercy smiled, but still looked concerned. "No one's perfect. Even angels lie, Jack." 

"Well, if it wasn't the building collapsing, what was it?" He sounded slightly irritated; he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was Gabriel's betrayal. Maybe it was Ana not telling anyone she was alive all those years. All that piled on top of Angela's lies.

"It was when I revived Gabriel, as crazy as it seems." She looked down at her hands. "I don't know why I'm able to do it, but I do know why I do. I want to help people, Jack, at whatever cost."

Soldier wasn't understanding; for the first time in a long time, Angela was batting around the question. She could see the confusion in his face.

"When I first revived him, I felt a pain like nothing I've ever felt. This wasn't like a bullet grazing your arm, it was like my soul was being pulled from my physical body. And... It was. Maybe that's why he turned out the way he did, because I didn't know what I was doing."

"Wait, wait, wait, go back. Your soul being pulled from your body?" 

"It is what it is. Jack, every time I revive someone, it takes a part of my soul. Not a lot, just enough to keep them going." She began to sound like she was trying to make it sound like a good thing. "But I think I've gone a bit too far. If I do it much more, I don't think I'll survive it much longer, based on today's events."

Soldier stopped again, seemingly processing the information he was just given. First Gabriel, now Reaper, had been lost, Ana had been gone for so many years, and then there's no telling how many comrades he lost on the battlefront. He didn't know how he would handle it if he lost Angela. Sure, he would have Reinhardt, Torbjörn, and of course Ana was still alive, but so many friends had died or almost died on his watch, and he wasn't about to let it happen now if he could help it.

"I don't want you to resurrect anyone, anymore." 

"What?"

"It's not worth it, but you are. I'm not gonna let you die, not yet."

"But, Jack, I have to-"

"End of discussion." He stood up abruptly, motioning to walk out. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do it." Before she could even get another word out, he was gone, and she was left to take in the fact that if she helped as much as she wanted to, it would be a cost of Soldier's friendship. If her own life wasn't first.

***

It was only a few weeks after, but some of the teammates still insisted Mercy keep her assistance solely at the headquarters for the time being. Of course, she had told them she had been injured in battle, despite no visible harm, but she wasn't about to worry everyone and admit what it took to revive them. They had other medics, but it still bothered her that she wasn't out helping her friends.

"ANGELA!" Pharah slammed open the door to the med bay in a panic, Reinhardt close behind. "IT'S JACK!" It took a moment to notice, but the larger man had an unconscious Soldier: 76 in his arms. 

Before Mercy had time to react, Reinhardt placed their teammate down on an examination table, Pharah speaking as calmly as she could to explain what was going on, but her speech still came out rushed. "We were on a mission, and he was singled out. He was out of ammo before we could do anything, and none of us noticed... We think he's on the brink of death, you can revive him, can't you?"

Oh, the irony of the situation. Either go against Soldier's orders, or let him die. Knowing Jack Morrison, he would rather die than let Mercy meet the same fate, however; she could hear him speaking in her head: "You're a lot younger than me, and have a lot more to live for. In my experience, you can't teach an old soldier new tricks." 

"Jack, you idiot!" Mercy instinctively shouted at Soldier's limp figure. "You know not to do these things to us!" She laughed nervously, but there were tears streaming down her cheeks. She still had the decision to make, but it was easy for her. "Don't worry, you're going to be okay. Because... Because..." She glimpsed down at her hands again before raising one, almost sobbing now. She felt the same intense sensation she did when she revived Reaper.

"BECAUSE HEROES NEVER DIE!"  

***

Soldier awoke with a jolt, clutching his chest and breathing heavily. It was like he had awoken from a nightmare, especially with someone screaming Mercy's name.

But it wasn't a nightmare. It was reality.

He turned around shortly to see both Pharah and Reinhardt ducking down onto the ground to aid someone, and it didn't take a genius to realize who it was. She was so bent on helping people, on helping him, that he should've known she would risk herself despite what he said.

Leaping down from the examination table to join the other two, Pharah was shaking Mercy's arm, begging her to wake up, while Reinhardt propped her up with his arm. 

"Angela, don't do this..." Soldier mumbled to her, even though he knew she couldn't hear him. "How could you be so stupid to do it?" He knew she wasn't stupid in any way, but it still wasn't smart to sacrifice herself for him, whether she felt the same or not.

Pharah stopped in place after listening and feeling for a heartbeat. "No pulse," was all she whispered as she put a hand over her mouth. She and Reinhardt stood up and backed away as a few other agents rushed into the door to witness the scene. Soldier, however, remained in place, swallowing back tears.

"Angela, don't." It began to sound like he was scolding her for doing it, but it was too late now for regrets. "Don't do this to me. Angela." He felt like a child, showing weakness in front of the other Overwatch members, but he didn't care. "Angela."

"ANGELA!"


End file.
